Hand can opener



Aug. 14, 1934. G. WRIGHT HAND CAN OPENER Filed July 21, 1933 lzwentor.

' Jttor Patented Aug. 14, 1934 UNITED STATES HAND CAN OPENER George Wright,

Oldham, England Application July 21, 1933, Serial No. 681,400 In Great Britain August 6, 1932 1 Claim.

This invention relates to hand can openers intended primarily for domestic use and the object thereof is to provide a novel construction which enables a clean cut and raising of the cut portion to be effected quickly and safely with certainty of action and with small effort.

I attain this object by means of the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of a hand can opener regarded from below;

Figure 2 is an elevation thereof.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the said can opener with the parts in a different position and applied to a can. I

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side view illustrating a detail.

Referring to the drawing, in the construction shown therein, I provide a bar-like handle 1 having a longitudinal slot 2 extending from near one end of it. Two arms 3, 3 mounted on a common pivot 4 provided at the said end of the handle 1 swing laterally of the handle and a headed screw 5 slides in the slot 2 and has two links 6, 6 pivotally mounted on it. One of the links 6 is pivotally connected to one of the arms 3 by a pivot '7 near the centre thereof and the other link 6 is connected to the other arm 3 and is connected by a pivot 8 near the centre of the said arm to the said arm.

The screw 5 is provided with a wing nut 9 whereby it can be clamped in any desired position along the slot 2 in the handle 1.

The end of each arm 3 is provided with a bracket 10 pivotally connected thereto by means of a pivot 11 and carrying gripper rollers 12 which have peripheral flanges 13 at the lower ends. The rollers 12 are mounted on headed studs 14 on the bracket 10. The ends of the arms 3 may be cranked or off-set downwardly, as shown, to facilitate engagement of the rollers 12 with the exterior of the rim of the can.

The handle 1 also has a depending, headed stud 15 on its underside, and a resistance or counter roller 16 is mounted on the stud 15.

Between the roller 16 and the other end ,of the handle 1 there is a depending stud 17 on which is mounted a lever 18 situated on the underside of the handle 1 and carrying at a point nearer the stud 15 than the free end of the lever a rotatable disc knife or cutter 19 on a headed'stud 21. The end of the lever 18 registers with the last named end of. the handle 1 when the lever is moved into parallel position with the handle 1. In this position of the lever, see Figure 3, the edge of the disc knife or cutter 19 overlaps the resistance or counter roller 16 whilst being at the same time spaced a distance below the roller 16. The lever 18 is provided with a guard plate 20 to prevent the hand of v(Cl. 303) 1 the user from coming into contact with the disc knife or cutter 19 whilst using the can opener.

In operation, when it is desired to open a can, the slotted part of the handle 1 is laid fiat on top of the can 22, see Figure 3, with the counter or resistance roller 16 in contact with the inner periphery of the upwardly projecting rim 23 of the can at one side of the seam 24 of the can barrel, and the screw 5 is moved along the slot away from the pivot 4 until the gripper rollers 12 on the swivel brackets 10 grip the exterior of the rim 23 of the can. The flanges 13 then act to prevent the rollers 12 from lifting away from the rim 23. The wing nut 9 is then tightened to lock the arms 3 and links 6 with the gripper rollers 12 in the rim gripping position. The lever 18 is then turned from the position shown in Figures 1 and 2 into parallel or registering position with the handle 1, see Figure 3. This movement causes the disc knife or cutter 19 to approach and pierce the barrel of the can 22 from theexterior at a place below the rim 23. The handle 1 and lever 18 are then gripped by the one hand of the user and this grip retains the lever 18 parallel or in register with the handle 1 and therefore keeps the disc knife or cutter 19 in the cutting position. The handle 1 is then turned with a sweeping movement in the direction of the arrow round the can, that is to say away from the seam 24 and the gripper rollers 12 cause the turning movement to take place about the centre of the can 22, the gripper rollers 12 running on the exterior of the rim 23. The disc knife or cutter 19 is thus caused to run round the barrel of the can 23 and cut the bar-rel circularly from side to side of the seam 24 with a clean and smooth cut.

When the cut extends round the can from one side of the seam 24 to the other, the handle 1 is turned in the reverse direction for a short distance and is then levered upwards and the gripper rollers 12 and flanges 13 thereby raise the severed top portion of the can to give access to the contents thereof, the uncut seam 24 acting as a hinge.

I claim A hand can opener comprising a handle, arms pivotally mounted thereon, links connected to the said arms, a lockable screw sliding in a slot in the handle and connected to the links, swivel brackets mounted on the said arms, rollers carried by the said swivel brackets and engaging the outer periphery of the can, flanges on the said rollers preventing upward disengagement of the rollers from the rim, a lever pivotally mounted on the said handle and carrying a cutter, a supporting roller mounted on the handle to run round the inner side of the rim and a cutter guard on the lever.

GEORGE WRIGHT. 

